Scrum power formed the bedrock of this result, with 24-year-old debutant prop Jack McGrath turning in a top-class performance.

Meticulous former New Zealand schoolteacher Schmidt was famed for his attention to detail in his Leinster coaching tenure and Ireland made it abundantly clear the new head coach has transferred that thirst for detail to the international arena.

Munster flanker O’Mahony’s try was the product of an inch-perfect rolling maul, the highlight of the night in terms of team play.

Along with detail, Schmidt loves high intensity and accuracy.

Despite the victory clamour, the new boss will definitely be keen for greater sharpness in his other two chief elements for the next fortnight, when Ireland face Australia and New Zealand.

Ireland created precious few opportunities behind the scrum in the first period, but their tight-exchange superiority was enough for a 14-9 lead at the break.

Samoa’s Siva Tau war dance charged the Aviva Stadium atmosphere, specially led by Brian Lima in memory of late and legendary prop Peter Fatialofa.

Ulster fly-half Paddy Jackson opened the scoring with a penalty after McGrath’s good scrum work and a turnover from stand-in skipper Jamie Heaslip.

Tusi Pisi quickly levelled the scores from the tee though, with Ireland ruled offside in defence.

This week the GAA issued guidelines for appropriate and safe training for Gaelic games. We asked to decode those guidelines to find out if they’re an improvement on the old regime, and whether some carry a deeper message.

Cork City and St Patrick’s Athletic packed what felt like a season’s worth of sensation into a remarkable opening night at Richmond Park, the reigning SSE Airtricity League champions — reduced to 10 men when Graham Cummins was sent off in the first half and pegged back to 2-2 after racing into what had seemed like a commanding early lead — finally edging a thrilling encounter late on with a Kieran Sadlier goal scored direct from a corner.

Munster’s planning for a Zebo-less future has solidified with new contracts for Andrew Conway and Stephen Fitzgerald confirmed and a first start of the season for the latter in this evening’s Guinness PRO14 trip to Cardiff Blues.